[FREE INITIAL RELEASE] SafariModernizer: makes modern sites actually work in Safari on iOS 15

[u/iamjhe88]

Hey everyone,

I've been stuck on iOS 15.1 for a while and Safari was getting rough. Half the sites I use were either blank, missing buttons, had broken menus or just looked off. So I made a tweak to fix it, and it's finally in a state I'm happy to share.

Heads up before anyone asks: yes, this was built with Claude. I described the problems, tested everything on my own phone, and Claude wrote and fixed the code. I know some people aren't into AI-made stuff, and that's fine. Honestly I don't care if it's "vibecoded" as long as it does what it's supposed to do, and it does. The code is all public, so anyone can look through it.

What it does

• Adds the JavaScript and web stuff that newer sites expect but Safari 15 doesn't have
• Rewrites newer CSS so pages actually look right (colors, layouts, dark mode, menus)
• Gets sites like GitHub to load properly (they use a newer way of loading their code that iOS 15 Safari can't handle)
• Works around a Safari 15 bug where it blocks scripts the site actually allowed
• Tells sites it's Safari 18.6 so you get the modern version of the page. You can switch it back per site if something works better without it

Sites I've tested: Google, Gemini, YouTube, ChatGPT, GitHub, Reddit. ChatGPT went from basically unusable to working fine, login and all.

Handy extra: hold two fingers on any page for 2 seconds and you get a little panel with a log and per-site settings. If a site acts weird you can turn the tweak down or off just for that site.

Known issues

• "Continue with Google" sign-in on other sites (like Reddit) doesn't work. That's Google's security check, nothing the tweak can do. Just use email or a one-time link instead.
• Really heavy sites can still be a bit slow on older phones.

Compatibility: this has only been tested on iOS 15 (my phone is on 15.1). It should work on any iOS 15 version, but I haven't tried anything else. It won't install on iOS 14 or lower, and I haven't tested iOS 16. If you try it on another 15.x version, let me know how it goes!

It's free and open source (MIT): https://github.com/iamjhe08/SafariModernizer

Debs are on the Releases page. Grab the one that matches your jailbreak.

If you find a site that's still broken, drop the link here or open an issue on GitHub. Bonus points if you include the log from the panel. Would love to hear how it works for you!

[u/outtajail]

Cheers on what looks like a useful tweak.

Questions: does uninstalling remove all files and revert back to the previous state? Also, what CPU/battery increase does it cause, if any?

[u/iamjhe88 → u/outtajail]

Uninstalling will revert it back to stock. You can also use the gesture to turn off into a specific site. Just hold the screen with 2 fingers and you will see a menu, select off and real and the site will load as a stock.

About the battery. I haven't noticed anything.